A local positive press piece about the upcoming GLRF Italian Sculling Clinic, Destinazione Italia, created a minor scandal in this small town. A reporter interviewed the co-director of the Terralba Rowing Camp, Eliza Camp about the clinic. Sra Camp said the article was very positive but its publication caused an uproar in the local town nonetheless.
Apparently, the new Assessore to Sports for the town of San Miniato read the article and hit the roof. He wrote letters to the editor and resigned from his position, citing that whether hundreds of gays or just five descend on the town, and row in the lake, it will be a slap in the face of the saints and that young children swim in that water where these gays will row, and all that sort of thing.
The controversy was picked up by the online gay Italian press website, GayNews:
first article - Gaynews_it_article1.pdf
second article -Gaynews_it_article2.pdf
third article from the Italian news sites BellaCiao: BellaCiao_GLRFarticle.pdf and Newspaper24 (no article available).
A rowing team based out of the well-known Rio de Janeiro sports club, Flamengo, registered for the coxless mixed four event at the Montreal 1st World Outgames Regatta. This registration marks the first entry for a South American rowing team. Rowing is extremely popular in South America with strong teams in Brasil, Argentina, Chile, and Venezuela.
Congratulations to the newly registered team and we hope rowers around the world will share their training and race times and build some camaraderie and competitive spirit.
The San Francisco Bay Blades were one of five gay teams included in the weeklong, nightly Q Television broadcast that celebrated Pride Week from 7:00 - 9:30 pm. Q Television is available on the east and west coasts of the United States through RCN Satellite, channel 229. GLRF has requested footage of the broadcast and when it becomes available, we will provide a hosting link.
It was both the Awards Night and the Closing Night of the New York City Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, NewFest. After the all the awards were presented and the thank you’s uttered, the lights dimmed and soon the audience was watching rowers talk about training, sex, and the regatta. Some things never change, right? By the end of the movie, guys were naked, boats were broken, and the queerstroke (queerschlag) team had won the regatta. Such a cool movie!
As the audience filed out of the movie theater, 8 rowers were lined up, with hands-on some crisp, sharp Crew New York brochures wrapped with a GLRF sleeve, and issues of Rowing News. As the rowers called out, “Would you like to row?” and “Rowing in New York City,” all 80 of the brochures were snapped up. The crowd swarmed to Boggart’s for some drinks and chat, and to talk about the movie’s stroke technique.
The 1st World Outgames organising committee has announced the appointments for the 1st World Outgames Regatta Committee. Ms. Guylaine Bernier of Rowing Canada will assume the role of president of the Regatta Committee. She will have the support of a solid team to assist her: Mr. Richard Cabana from the Lachine Rowing Club and the Association Québécoise d’Aviron (Québec Rowing Association), Mr. Karol Sauvé, Rowing Canada national coach and Olympic Basin Events Coordinator, as well as Mr. Gregory Dalmasso and Mr. Philippe Colas from Club d’Aviron Odawagan. Additionally, Ms. Micheline Landry, Mr. Marco Veilleux and Mr. Michel Germain, will serve on the committee.
They have all been actively involved in numerous rowing events. The regatta committee is looking forward to welcoming rowers and crews from around the world, and is hard at work to ensure top-quality, unforgettable competitions at the Olympic Basin, site of rowing competitions during the 1976 Olympic Games in Montréal.
GLRF became the latest country to join the GLRF worldwide community when a university rower registered from the main city of Zagreb.
Although Croatia is a small country, with a population of only 4.5 million, rowing is a very popular sport. Clubs abound in the city and countryside. Croatian rowers have medaled in the Olympics, including the recent silver for Siniša and Nikša Skelin (2-) in Athens. Hopefully, this first registration will open the door for more rowers to come forward and become a visible part of the global community.
A rower from Gent became the first Belgian to join the GLRF global community. The registration pushed the GLRF country county to 16, and expands the GLRF presence in western Europe. Belgium has a strong tradition of rowing, with influences from Germany, France, and Holland. The Montreal World Outgames reported a surge in registrations from Belgium for the 2006 event at the recent Belgian Pride Week. The increased interest in the event may induce other rowers to join GLRF.
The Terralba rowing camp in Tuscany will be the site of the first GLRF Italian Scullers Clinic. The owners of the camp had read about the Craftsbury clinic and contacted GLRF to ask if they could develop a similar event. The event brings a global reach to the GLRF marketing campaign, HitTheWater!2005. Rowers can learn more about the weekend clinic, scheduled for 22 - 25 Sep 2005, by clicking through to the GLRF web page Destinazione Italia.
The full press release can be reviewed here: GLRFmedia_DestinazioneItalia.pdf
[Edit: due to a lack of registrations, the clinic had to be cancelled but the idea was certainly of interest to many members.]
Russia became the 15th country to join the GLRF global community when an elite rower from Moscow registered. This groundbreaking registration will pave the way for other rowers to discover and develop a shared community in Russia. Additionally, the existence of a Russian rower’s membership in GLRF will encourage and promote interest in rowing in the Russian gay and lesbian community as well.
GLRF member @DPH2002 visited Buenos Aires and the Tigre Region in April 2005. Over a one-week period, he took in the sights and tastes of a country that knows how to do many things right: style, rowing, and meat.
Shop ‘til you drop in Buenos Aires for some amazing styled clothes and prices that will keep you jabbering endlessly. If you have never tasted Argentine beef, you are in for a treat.
If you have never seen the rowing clubs of the Tigre region, your mouths will fall open in awe. There are huge number of clubs, most of which are organized along country names, like Germany, Switzerland, Italy, etc. They row both the larger c-boats (thus the rail tracks to cart the boats to the water), and racing boats.
The famous Cucchietti boats are built in the Tigre area. We visited Jorge Cucchietti’s boat manufacturing facility, and his son was kind enough to lend us his personal single for a quick row out of the Buenos Aires Rowing Club.
http://www.glrf.info/gotchagallery/data/media/17/Cucchettit_DosinMarcos6.jpg
If you have never thought about a Cucchietti boat, you should! Their unique hull design and super lite construction makes them the secret weapon in the racing world.
